Another European mood piece. Inferred narrative, incessant close-ups, panning, tracking, and angled camera shots, minimal dialogue. It's all here, quite claustrophobic and irritating. Many are talking about the daring incest plotline; to be honest, if the characters hadn't casually mentioned the mother/son relationship (about three times), I would never have known; it's handling is quite subtle, there's no indication in their behavior that distinguish this from student/teacher, or simply older/younger. Dialogue is so sparse (generally no more than two lines exchanged between characters at any given time), one can't be sure what's going on in the story; the last 20-30 minutes of the film has no conversations, none; we're treated to a little twist, fade to white, it's months later, and our two characters never exchange a single word, or share a real moment to explain what has happened or the nature of their relationship. As for the sex in the film, I know folks believe they saw these two engaging in intercourse, but we didn't see any such thing. To be sure, there is plenty of nudity, some foreplay, an HJ, and the off camera use of an item for pleasuring, however, any act of lovemaking between the characters is not shown; no grinding, thrusting, groaning, or sweating with our protagonists wrapped around each other. There is little, if any, romance here. Given that avoidance of honest passion, the minimal dialogue, and fuzzy narrative, this movie's subject matter is rendered more tepid than bold or shocking; indeed, it would be difficult to show mother/son incest much safer than it's depiction here. Ultimately, the movie just aimlessly rolls around the deck until the end credits appear.
Review of Grand Jeté
